Project Runway Season 11: Episode 3, "Surprise Me"

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn present the Surprise! perfume challenge to the designers on Project Runway season 11. The teams had to come up with two looks for Heidi to wear while she promotes her new perfume.

Tu Nakchat works on his evening dress for the Surprise! commercial on Project Runway.

Team Keeping It Real.
Layana Aguilar and Katelyn Pankokes design for Heidis commercial.

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn present the Surprise! perfume challenge to the designers on Project Runway season 11. The teams had to come up with two looks for Heidi to wear while she promotes her new perfume.

Photo: MyLifetime.com

Project Runway, I'm disappointed in you. Second challenge, black-and-white ping-pong club uniforms. Third challenge, pushing Heidi Klum's new perfume, Surprise! C'mon, seriously?! It's no surprise Heidi likes self-promotion.

So, Heidi comes to the workroom with a storyboard for her perfume commercial, samples of the perfume's ingredients (jasmine, etc.), signed copies of a book of photographs of herself, and bottles of the perfume so that the designers could be inspired by the bottle and the packaging colors of pink, black, and gold.

The teams, still Keeping it Real and the Dream Team, had to create an assortment of two looks for Heidi. One look was for the commercial. It had to have movement and back interest. The other garment was for a press launch, so it had to be unique, confident, and if possible, comfortable.

Nina Garcia and Zac Posen rounded out the judging panel, with actress Kristin Davis as the guest judge.

The Winning Team: Still Keeping It Real

The winning commercial look, by Layana Aguilar and Katelyn Pankoke. Katelyn won the episode, and has immunity next week.

The winning press look, by Daniel Esquivel. Daniel actually designed this as a commercial look, too, but Heidi was really taken with it and selected it for her press event:

Patricia Michaels scored very high for her design. Patricia stitched leather squares together into a mesh fabric:

Joseph Aaron Segal and Amanda Valentine's design:

Richard Hallmarq's design:

Stanley Hudson's design:

(Requiem for a) Dream Team

Dream Team bombed again, with a number of bad designs.

The losing design was by Cindy Marlatt. The judges criticized the taffeta choice and the uninspired construction:

Michelle Franklin's design:

Mat Arthur's design. Mat narrowly escaped being booted for this outfit.

Samantha Black's design:

Benjamin Mach's design. Benjamin narrowly missed losing this episode. He was there on the runway with Cindy at the bitter end.

Tu Nakchat's design:

Share your comments

Are you intrigued enough to go out and buy some Surprise! perfume by Heidi Klum?

Cindy didn't seem to manage to put any excitement into her designs, but Benjamin's dress was a disaster!! Why do you think they decided to keep Benjamin and send Cindy home?

Do you think they change the teams on the next episode? (I do, I think they'll have to! Except... the Dream Team should theoretically be getting stronger because the weaker designers are being cast out.)

How do you like the team format? It's working for me - I see it making the Keeping It Real team greater than the sum of its designers! I'm looking forward to next week. I wonder if Benjamin will keep from cracking?! Will Mat manage to overcome his insecurity? Will Tu, Michelle, or Samantha finally get noticed?

Sarah McFarland, contributor
Posted on Feb 11th, 2013 in sewing, design, garment construction, fabric, Project Runway, designers, getting the look, seam, Project Runway 11, measuring, teams edition

Comments (6)

Soli writes: If you haven't already seen Ben's portfolio on the PR website, take a look at it. He does beautiful work. Maybe time management is an issue when you're sketching and there are stitchers working at your direction. I think Cindy was out of her depth. She's probably not a bad seamstress for her local market, but I don't think she's ever going to be a great designer. Patricia is amazing. However, I do think that her dress looked unfinished, as if it were about six inches too short in the skirt on the leather mesh overlay. I think she's one of the most innovative contestants they've have in a long time. I do think that Ben's sketch was beautiful, that it could be a beautiful gown if it had been properly executed. I just hate it when they only give the designers one day to do something that's a big deal. I think in the earlier iteration of the show, they might have been given two days for such an important commission. The pressure cooker atmosphere certainly doesn't help anyone if they're in the midst of a personal crisis in addition to trying to survive each challenge.
Posted: 11:34 pm on February 22nd

Kim2cat writes: visited mood today, but could not make a fabric choice in 30 mins!! - am impressed with the designers ability to sketch and select in an hour ..really enjoyed episode #4 ..love the show and the store
Posted: 6:15 pm on February 19th

Cherlyn writes: Ihve eto agreee with hazelspi: how dothey get this far with management issues? Ben should have gone home over Cindy. I was surprised when it was the other way. I'm tryingto figure out how Ben got into the competition tobegin with--did someone else create the looks he brought? Sometimes I wonder about this because the talend you see at the beginning, those shots of the designs they submit never appear again!
I had not though about the teams being re-done. I guess that could be a twist. Could make for an interesting show full of drama. The Dream Team s management issues an the Keep It Real Team knows how to execute and get things done. I get tired of the drama so I would just turn it off if it got to be too much arguing.
I loved the winnning look by Agiular and Pankake! It was well designed and made up so beautiful! I liked Esquivel's look, butnot as well as some others that I saw walking down the runway. Othe other team, Black's gown was beautiful too.
Posted: 7:44 am on February 18th

eemaw writes: What really surprised me was that Cindy went home instead of Ben. They apparently judge on more than the design in front of them. If they did, Ben would have gone home since his dress wasn't even completely sewn together. It was held together with belts. I knew the taffeta was a poor choice, but come on, to say Ben's design was better? I think what they may have been thinking is, who would be more likely to create more fashion forward garments in the future. Cindy is marvelous at tailoring, but Ben, if he didn't wash out, would likely create designs more suited for a younger client.
Posted: 11:29 am on February 16th

Serral writes: The winnng dress was nicely executed and clearly refernced the project.

In general the episode was uninspiring! Black, brown, beige, One pink dress that was sent home. The skirts are short to the point of embarassing or long with slits that substitute forced "sexiness" for innovative design.

Patricia's leather squares, even, if not to everyone's taste, were the most creative and skilled piece of work on the runway.

I am not sure i would have sent Cindy home; a sequined minidress with a birds nest growing out of the side of one's derriere makes wrinkled shantung seam like a prize.

I like the team format. In the real fashion world, people work collaboratively - designers, paternmakers, sample makers, etc. No one makes it on the fashion world totally alone.
Posted: 7:47 am on February 13th

hazelspi writes: I can't believe these designers have gotten this far in their profession without learning something about managing time. Twice now 2 of them have frittered away their alloted time...thinking?, sketching?, worrying? As the day was coming to an end they could have made a simple sheath dress and thrown an embellishment on it rather than send such an unfinished piece down the runway. Unless Ben can show the judges that he can design and sew he needs to be sent home. Patricia, you go girl!
Posted: 7:33 am on February 12th

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