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TASK 4
I'M GONNA SHOW YOU GROWTH
Dirty fashion that's grown on me
For this task, I asked the designers of Season 5 to create a design that was going to be shown in two ways. The idea here was an editorial photoshoot in which the model wears a look with a lot of earthy colors such as brown shades, burgundy, beige etc. to represent dirt (the type you farm on). As time goes on, something will have grown on this dirt look, turning it into fashion that has blossomed into something else.
This could be described as a bit of an avant garde task, but not necessarily. To put it more simple: the designer had to come up with one outfit that had to look good on it's own, as well as look good after it had been processed in Photoshop by me and edited to have textures and colors from one of the plants that each designer was able to choose from.
Let's eat!
ohku
(1) You've constructed a really cute jumpsuit and overall this look is very much in the steampunk area. My favorite aspect is the cactus flower that you created on top of your head, you were scared it was too tacky and in a sense it is maybe a little bit, but it's personal to you since you live in the desert and I love it when designers dare to not be too people pleasing and bring their heart into something. I really fancy it. The gray top, although it's nothing revolutionary, was a great addition since it evens out the earthy color palette a little bit and prevents it from being too brown if that makes any sense. I also love the addition of the feather wing, perhaps in a month or so it will be tired but here and now it really elevates the look, the colors you chose for it gives it a bit of a rusty effect. I'm more in love with the accessories here than the base look, which is a bit flat.
(2) Your cactus flower headpiece shines even brighter in relation to this cactus themed jumpsuit. In all honesty, there isn't much to say here. You spent a lot of focus on having the first look be texturally great, which it was, but whatever your strategy was, it didn't result in some spectacular look once it was photoshopped and cactus-ified. It's just an OK jumpsuit. I know I should shut up about the headpiece, but that creativity that's in it is the key for you moving forward: don't try to please me or abide by ''PR rules'' or be so conventionally fashionable, follow the rhytm in your head instead, because when you do you come up with gold.
Cassandra.Goth
(1) The bodysuit is pretty great, it looks like you've structured and tangled a bunch of roots into a bodysuit. I can't see much of it though. I recognize that you had issues having the pose you wanted work for you due to technical issues with the imagers, but in the future it is up to you to work around the problem and maximize your potential in a challenge. The headpiece (that extends into a backpiece) is mesmerizing. It looks militant but also precious and beautiful due to the addition of the bow and the various leaves which are dancing down your model's back. It's got a mother nature flower power soldier vibe. It's one of my absolute favorite creations I've seen you do and I think one could recolor it in many ways and come up with about 50 other looks in which it would look spectacular. I also fancy the lime green shoes. All in all, this is a look with a decent structure that is highly elevated thanks to the amazing accessories.
(2) This is where you run into the same problem a second time. Your canvas for the green screen treatment is so small that there isn't much to it that is new: the transition between the first and second look isn't a game changer, it's more of a shrug. It would've been cool had you chosen a plant/tree which played off the backpack so that it would be an ''aha!'' moment. Now it's just a pink bodysuit against a green backpack. In all fairness, I do think the pink bodysuit is adorable and I can't fault it on it's own, I simply find that you could've achieved a higher ranking had you applied the same thriftiness on the bodysuit/base look as you did on the backpack.
Sparkle
(1) No pun intended but I have to pull this line considering what this task is about: it's so great to see you grow in real time. It's an actual privilege we get to follow your design journey because there is something both raw and vulnerable about it. I'd say I like this dress but I don't love it. In a way it reminds me of Yoda's house in Star Wars: it has a tangled quality to it with features that make it partially look heavy and partially light - and overall there's something wholesome and soothing to it. This dress tells me everything is going to be alright, so I guess you got the Mother nature aspect of this task down. If I apply my bitchy Devil Wears Prada sunglasses and look at this, I think you could've gone for a more high fashion skirt and a top that is more fabulous, because those two together bring this look dangerously close to costume territory.
(2) Sure, maybe your layout could've been more advanced and there could've been a greater diversity in the layers so that the flowers got broken up more, in order for them to shine a little more, since this dress literally looks like both a field of Heathers and a dress. Visually though, I am very weak for this. Perhaps it does look a bit too precious and there's a chance this is a step too close to a pageant gown. Fashion, however, isn't just about these abstract snotty rules, fashion is sometimes like eating a luxurious, delicious chocolate dessert. Fashion is sometimes about indulgence and unapologetic beauty, which is exactly what I'm getting from this look. The purple Heathers have such a rich quality to them and they're the perfect choice for your extensive gown. I just get good feelings looking at this. Had I done this Fresh Faces style, you would've had a low technical score, but a 10 for beauty. You have very good styling instincts, Sarah, but sometimes Project Runway is about cracking a code without falling into a mental hole, and it's that you need to continue practicing.
nicrobbo95
(1) In terms of coming up with an earthy color palette, I believe yours is one of the best. It feels rich and the shades are balanced in relation to each other. One trap that some designers might've fallen into this week is to have the first look in a color palette that is too murky. The inclusion of turquoise is genius, it's a fresh color that only makes the brown shades even more special as it acts as a reliever for the eye. I've followed your PR journey throughout several longterms and by now it's become clear to me that those shoes have such a strong chokehold on you - moving forward I'd like to see you utilize a pair of shoes you normally don't use.This Dune -esque ensemble is one of which we've seen a lot of during the last couple of years and it's starting to lose it's effect. On the other hand, I will always be weak for that desert walker type of look so this look does act as a guilty pleasure for me. I adore the way you made the cape only come out on one of the sides due to the great inclusion of the bag, it makes it a more unique detail.
(2) To keep the shoes in white was another brilliant move of yours, because they act as a neutralizer to a very beautiful but slightly chaotic look. Again, I really enjoy the inclusion of the turquoise, it acts as a bridge between the two looks. It could also be seen as ''the seed'' as it looks like the turquoise has mutated or exploaded all over the floral look. My only complaint is that I wish this look had a more original structure to it, but that's just me being picky. You understood that this task was about creating something voluminous, to provie a wide canvas in order for the floral textures to really come through. This design is a little messy, but in a way that is almost harmonizing, like when you go through a forrest or a djungle that is densely filled with wild plants and shrubs. Visually, this is one of the most striking looks this week and I must note that you did so many things right this week. There's both thought and fabulosity here.
Cinthia
(1) I've noticed over the years that you're one of very few who like to include animals into your PR looks. I've seen you utilize the snake hair, armadillo, rabbit, butterfly, feathers and now snake again. You are a fashionable Jungle Jane and you're about to have PETA on your ass. I don't exactly love the snake as an idea but the result ended up as you altering that jacket (which is from 2009 so it's had some wear and tear over the years). I always appreciate innovation so I do give you points for that. I like how intricate the top looks and that the bottom looks more simple in comparison, which is interesting because the bottom is actually quite layered and not that simple in actuality. I do enjoy most of this color palette but I must warn you from incorporating pink into a more earthy and brown color palette since it tends to cause a nauseating effect (I didn't come up with that, I heard fashion bloggers Tom & Lorenzo say it once and it's 100 % true). This is very editorial 70's office wear and you maintaned the most important thing: you keep it interesting.
(2) Oh MAN!!! This look gets a whole new life and is taken to a whole other level with this plant treatment. You realized that there was potential in the Midnight Moon Orchid and that its leaves could act as a print that almost looks like pleated fabric. This look, although the silhouette is the same, gives the illusion that it has a slightly different silhouette due to the depth and the shadows that are incorporated into the new look. Again, it does look like a 70's look, but this time it's the office party version of the first look (or an afterwork situation at a bar). I believe you are one of the designers in the PR community that has the strongest visions: that fire you have inside of you is unapologetic in your designs and that's what I love about you. However, through the last couple of years I think you've struggled to land in a certain aesthetic that really defines you and you have been a bit all over the place, I think this slightly toned down, controlled chaos thing that's going on here is something you should explore more.
Peyton125
(1) For the first three tasks you seemed to have a laser focus and overall in this competition you've outdone yourself. I don't know what your competitors are thinking and it could be too early to say, but you kind of established yourself as a tough one to beat early on. This design right here relates to absolutely none of that and I'm actually surprised you chose this. This looks anxious and it doesn't go anywhere. It borderline looks like a medieval theater costume as well, the cross earrings aren't exactly preventing it either. I believe the dark green with the brown kind of brought you into trouble. Lately, you've shown that you can do designs that got sex appeal and a high-end quality to them, designs ingrained with fabulosity and a bit of a statuesqueness to them. Whatever your design process was here, throw it out the window and go back to what you did before because those were some perfect recipes. On a positive note, you did come up with a nice metallic palette for the shoe and they do pull some weight for this look.
(2) This looks is a bit better but there's still issues. Your idea to apply a very layered texture onto specific layers of your design was some good thinking, the effect is cool. I do believe for this silhouette, especially with the scarf in mind, that the look gets a little bit too weighed down by it. Your model looks like she got stuck in a tree rather than her wearing an outfit made from a tree. The green leaves do so much for this look, they help break up most of the segments which are more or less in conflict, I wish there had been more of it. This task was about exploring the potential that the textures and colors of plants and trees can have on a fashion design. That you mainly relied on wood instead of leaves or a softer, greener texture like those palm leaves is such a missed opportunity. I know I'm being harsh on you Peyton, but it's becuase you've set a new level for yourself and I have to judge you by it.
.Cow.
(1) Kaytlin, you have finally arrived. This is the intriguing Kaytlin I saw slay it on Snawlterm S6, the more editorial Kaytlin, the side of you who knows how to come up with rich color palettes and play with layers. This outfit has got me drooling. You chose one of the most luscious combination of earthy colors, it's interesting that you put a pair of yellow straps on the top since it almost tricks the eye that the corset could be in a murky shade of green, when in actuality it's a darker shade of brown. It's an example of how elusive this design is. I rarely see anyone merge that mouth scarf into an outfit so flawlessly, it actually is hard to tell where it ends and where the dress begins in the chest area. The more colorful aspects of this design seem to have been applied carefully, there's a touch of it here and there, just enough to balance out the heavier tone of the brown dress. I love the harder, more structured top of the dress that expands into a softer lower side with more volume. Without jumping through hoops or coming up with some crazy trick, you were able to come up with something very exciting. I'm completely in love with this look.
(2) The transformation is quite impactful. I love that the first look kind of hints at what is about to come as you did include smaller purple details, such as the earrings. The first look, although it is editorial and high fashion, is more on the commercial side. This second look is without a doubt very avant garde. It looks infected or even mutated. The olive green shoes were lovely in relation to the first look and for the second look they are even more complimentary, I love that they don't exactly match the dress but are instead in a darker shade which makes them stand more on their own. Most cactuses are very sharp and painful to touch and I enjoy the fact that this dress kind of evokes that, like a cutting ''look but don't touch'' type of beauty. Spectacular work, Kaytlin.
Snawl
(1) I love the black accessories just dancing down from the head to the back of your model. When you involve a bit of romanticism in your design, that’s when you create your best work. Not that this over-the-top romantic but it has a touch of it. I’d describe this design as gleeful and carefree, even though there are multiple heavy layers. Not that this is the most high fashion critique, but I kind of hear LoTR music looking at this, like a scene where they’re drinking and having a good time. Perhaps because this design has a timeless quality to it: it could be contemporary fashion in a sense, but it could also make sense in a (fictional) setting a thousand years ago. Everywhere you lay your eyes on this look, theres your fingerprints on it. Every single part of this looks like it's been thoughtfully worked on and I love that about you, you don't compromise or slack when it comes to execution. There's just so much to look at here and not in an overbearing way but in a rather harmonic way. The kimono top and the fur vest are clashing which kind of gave new life to the vest, it almost looks like a brand new item.
(2) This has a really great, whimsical and light feeling to it. You saw the potential in a plant that was one of the more quiet and laid back visually, and then amped up the volume on it through your application of it and the involvement of complimentary textures and colors, resulting in a design in which your style is having a dance with this mushroom texture (or: print). The soft purple and burgundy get a new life to them in this look once they're in relation to a brighter color, which is the mushroom blue. I've been enamoured by both of these looks so well done.
LC22
(1) This looks like Xena Warrior Princess but if Urban Outfitters did a version of it (for those of you who don't know what that is, think hip teenager clothes store). It has a bit of an apocalyptic doomsday quality to it, verging on Mad Max (sorry for being all over the place with these references). None of these things are bad, just an observation! Mixing a brown fur bolero with a checkerboard print is a combination I can't really get behind, I like each of them individually. The strongest aspect to this design is the sense of drama and flair that it has, it seems you were going for like a modern warrior woman and each time you dive into your love for femininity and the power engrained in it, you are in your best creative position I believe. The pink streak of hair, relating to the sakura tree, is really cute and those shoes are perhaps my favorite pair I've ever seen you use.
(2) Now, THIS is sophisticated. There is nothing teenager about it and no confusing elements fighting each other. It's pure class. It's interesting (and a little funny) how you went from a doomsday rebellion look to a harmonious, high-end spa day look. Still, there is that touch of colorful rock chic Elysse that is carried from the first look to the other thanks to those great shoes and the hair as well. Another trick that I think you utilized is to color the earring red, it kind of makes the pink elements in this look appear a little more richer because of that complimentary color. This spa kimono (or whatever it is) is one of my favorite things I've ever seen you come up with, you can't fault it. I like that you incorporated a lot of neutral dark wood and had a perfect amount of pink flowers involved, had this been in all pink then the sophistication would perhaps have been lost in a chaos. Overall, solid work this week.
doglover
(1) Speaking for both looks: in terms of creating an artwork, this duo takes the cake. Absolutely mesmerizing stuff here. Looking at the layers, there are parts where I almost can't tell where one element ends and another begins. I love that you went for slightly colder shades of brown as it makes you stand out of the pack a little bit, it also amplifies the effect that those blue things have, which kind of resemble a streak of water running down some rocks. This design tells the story of someone who is sheltering themselves, despite it's heavily layered construction it has a soft and vulnerable aura to it. The hat is slightly unexpected but I find myself liking it as it infuses more personality into the look. I'm stunned by this and I am struggling to find words to describe this, which is fine because this artpiece speaks for itself.
(2) You were very specific in what you wanted and it paid off since your vision came through. It's actually insane how nicely the palmtree's wood looks once it was integrated into the model's pants. It actually looks like someone deliberately sat down and pixelated wooden palmtree pants, when in reality I've just given it a basic photoshop treatment. It's really cute how those blue details on your look now resembles rain coming down the palm tree's leaves. I think that art comes in many ways and forms and fashion is only one section of textile art, which is what I would describe this as. I would've wished to have seen the model's presence a bit more since fashion is a bit about a silent play between the garment, the person wearing it and what the two do for each other. Other than that, you continue to blow me away.
Player
(1) I'm going to be harsh, partially because the 11 of you are so equal in terms of talent and performance that I have to be. This bores me. I know you as a designer so well by now that I can categorize your looks into two categories. The one is Mickey when he has found true inspiration and blows everyone else out of the water with his work. The other category is Mickey when he is a bit unsure of what to do, so he pulls out his bag of tricks, applies a handful of really great ones to achieve some interesting textures here and there, polishes it a bit and voila. This Iook I'd put in the latter category. If that sounds mean, it's because I care and I want you to do so much better. Looking at your LidlTerm Season 2 stuff, you had more ambition and oomph than this. Is this your best work? Not really. That top you've constructed looks quite nice, editorial even. It resembles scales or pieces of wood.I am really struggling to understand the relation between the green skirt with the orange accessories to the top. The bottom simply looks like a throw-away.
(2) If you thought I was a bitch just about now, perhaps this will help a little bit: the top looks outstanding. It looks a bit like a biker jacket made out of cactus. I kind of wish there had been an earring that complimented that little purple flower but it's just a minor complaint. Again, the skirt with the orange heels is just fine, it doesn't have conflict with the top but it also doesn't elevate it either. This biker jacket looking top deserves a way edgier and cooler bottom piece than this, it's also worth noting that it's one of my favorite things I've ever seen you come up with. I want more of that! More of the fabulous Mickey, less of the strategic PR Mickey. You've got to get out of your comfort zone somehow while you still hold onto your unique sense of creativity.
VERDICT
Congratulations doglover - you are the winner of the fourth task of LidlTerm Season 5. There were plenty of strong entries for the win this week, I simply went with my gut feeling telling me it should be you. Your design is a display of a masterful layering technique, and perhaps what got you this win is that you were able to tell a story through your look, likely due to the implementation of some very beautiful details. Your first look is a sentimental and sheltered design that in the second look transforms into something thrilling and uproaring. You really touched something within me with this design, Chris.
Well done to .Cow. and nicrobbo95 (second week in the top), the two of you each made a strong case for yourselves and came close to grabbing the win. If you two continue to design like this, then there is no stopping either of you.
Peyton125 - your design this week is by far the least succesful one. However, you have not been eliminated. Instead, I am imposing a punishment for you. Next week, there will be a double elimination. Unless you manage to rank in first or second place in the next task, then you will be eliminated, even if that means you have the third best look. I'm giving you this do or die chance due to one single reason. Within the first three tasks, you managed to get both first and second place and your average ranking before this panel was 3.3 - I wouldn't feel good eliminating anyone in your shoes so early on in the season. I believe your competitors wouldn't want to be you right now, however, you've come up with greatness before. Can you do it again when you need it the most?
For full rankings, check out the Progress page (click here)
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