Project Runway Episode 7: "Oh My Lord and Taylor"

Christopher's winning design.

Photo: MyLifetime.com

As you may have noticed from Tim's subtle hints each episode, this season Project Runway's accessory wall is sponsored by Lord & Taylor. This week's challenge asked the remaining designers to create a look that would join the 10-piece Project Runway Capsule Collection, on display at the department store chain's New York flagship store. But there's more! The winning dress wouldn't just be exhibited - it would be put into production and be sold nationwide at Lord & Taylor and LordandTaylor.com as part of the Project Runway collection. The guest judge was Bonnie Brooks, president of Lord & Taylor.

All of the designers were excited about this challenge, and took its implications seriously. To have a design put into production, to potentially see it being worn by Lord & Taylor customers is a wonderful incentive, but it also put a lot of pressure on the designers.

For some reason, the stress level followed gender lines. The male designers were calm and collected. Dmitry, Gunnar, and Ven seemed to experience very little second-guessing of their design concepts. The women, on the other hand, Elena, Sonjia, and Melissa in particular, were full of doubt about their designs and fabrics. There were tears and near collapses right before the runway show. This was definitely a dramatic episode, and I'm curious to see your responses to the unexpected ending. On to the judging!

The winner

Christopher's design. It won points for being feminine, classic, graceful. Christopher took a risk, using his fabric-slashing technique again, but it paid off in a soft, simple design that looked expensive.

The loser...

There wasn't one! All of the designers rose to the challenge. Some had more intriguing designs than others, but no-one created a real dud. The judges toyed with Gunnar a bit. He was the last on the stage, and there was a long pause as Heidi said Gunnar, you're ....... IN!

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Sarah McFarland, contributor
Posted on Sep 4th, 2012 in sewing, design, garment construction, fabric, Project Runway, designers, getting the look, project runway recap

Comments (10)

MaggieRN writes: It was sad that this 'challenge' had already committed to having the design produced for the store. I thought that the winners' design was OK but not all that unique or special.
We have seen more than enough slashed fabric tops for about the last year now and the color was OK but not spectacular.
Seriously, this was something that even I could make on my little machine with fabric purchased locally.
One expects more for such a high-end store's collection.
If it were MY shop and money to invest I would wait and pick from the best of the best from a season instead of just one episode.

Posted: 2:03 am on October 3rd

allthatjazzercize writes: It’s cool to actually see the winning look being put into production. I definitely wouldn’t mind owning the dress that Christopher made! It’s the perfect thing to wear for formal occasions with my colleagues at Dish and also out for romantic date nights. My one complaint about the episode though is that Elena snuck her way into the top three! I haven’t gotten a chance to watch the newest episode, but I just hope they eliminate her in it! I’ll have to watch it ASAP, before the ending gets spoiled for me. At least I know that it is safely tucked away on my Hopper DVR, with such a large memory space that I never have to worry about my show getting deleted to make room for new things. I can’t wait to find out!
Posted: 10:13 am on September 19th

iris68 writes: I agree, Dmirty should have the winning title. The dress was so polished and classy.
The winning Pale Vampire Dress didn't speak to me.
Posted: 1:02 pm on September 16th

Serral writes: Boring, boring, boring and safe. What a sad and uncreative set of garments.

This season's designers lack ingenuity and sparkle. How many black cocktail like dresses came down the runway?

Someone bring Mondo back!
Posted: 9:31 pm on September 8th

Serral writes:
Posted: 9:24 pm on September 8th

lbmdesigns writes: I think we all love Gunner!!
Posted: 1:44 am on September 6th

user-2005712 writes: well, I really liked christopher's dress. I thought it was beautifully simple and sophisticated.
Posted: 7:41 pm on September 4th

LauriR writes: Dmitry's was the best designed of all the looks, with unusual, but flattering lines. And the color was stunning! I thought Christopher's was old fashioned (or maybe that's me). The simple neckline and short sleeves did not seem graceful to me, and I doubt that a sophisticated shopper would go for the look. That said - I do like his soft slashing technique, but - to paraphrase the judges - it's time to give it a rest.
Posted: 7:26 pm on September 4th

Cherlyn writes: I thought Dimetry's dress was temost interesting design too. I didn't really care for Christopher's but I could understand the judges' points of view. I thougth for a brief minute, Gunner was gone also. Glad he got to stay. Didn't really care for his dress but he does have heart! I also didn't like Elena's dress--thought it had an odd shape on her model. Why all the black? Everyone looks like they're dressed for a funeral. I'm tired of the roe motif and the fabric-slashing technique. Surely these two designers have some other tricks they are saving up for the end.
Posted: 5:53 pm on September 4th

sews4fun writes: I feel that Dmitry was cheated.....once again. His dress was classic, slimming and had good lines. I would have chosen that dress over the winner any day of the week.
I would have been very angry if Gunnar had gone home. Yes, I even told my husband before the winner was chosen that I had seen Gunnar's dress in every dept store I have ever gone to.
So I agree with the judges, I have seen it before. Speaking of having seen it before, Alicia's dress just needed to be white and put a tennis racket in her models hand and she could have played at Wimbledon! There was no inspiration there whatsoever. Christopher's dress was boring, I have seen it too, usually on the sales rack because no one wanted such a plain dress to wear to a special occasion. That particular style has been around since the 1800's! Talk about having seen it before! Melissa's dress was okay, a bit too little miss mermaid for me but it wasn't a nightmare either. I have to say it one more time, speaking of having seen it before, I noted that Ven had his usual rose motiff on his dress and was all impressed with himself over it...snore! I'm glad no one was sent home this time because none were total disasters but if anyone would have been sent home, it should have been Alicia, not Gunnar.
Posted: 1:48 pm on September 4th

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