Jason Rusk, the Vice President of Brand Transformation for the popular restaurant chain Red Robin, was joined by a group of suited men to announce this week’s challenge. With a variety of suits to choose from, each designer was challenged to create a high-fashion look using the materials from one suit as the majority of his/her design. The twist was that Sandhya was in charge of deciding which suit each designer must work with, since she was last week’s winner. The designers were later given $100 to purchase supplemental fabrics at Mood.
This week’s guest judge was YouTube vlogger Bethany Mota. The lowest scores were given to Kristine, Hernan, and Sean. While Sean’s deconstructed look was overly criticized by the judges, it was Hernan’s unflattering and ill-fitting dress that caused him to be sent home. Kini, Alexander, and Amanda, however, were in the top. The judges were very impressed with Alexander this week and said that his flirty, stylish outfit was the best design they had seen from him yet. Still, Amanda managed to secure her second win with another fringed dress.
On to the designs…
The top:
Amanda’s winning design:
Kini’s design:
Alexander’s design:
The bottom:
Hernan’s losing design:
Sean’s design:
Kristine’s design:
The rest of the looks:
Sandhya’s design:
Samantha’s design:
Mitchell’s design:
Korina’s design:
Fade’s design:
Emily’s design:
Char’s design:
I thought this was a pretty neat challenge. Although many of the designers were supposedly uninspired by the suits Sandhya assigned them, I think most of them came up with very creative outfits. I also agreed with the majority of Sandhya’s choices and thought she was quite considerate when it came to choosing suits for the respective designers. As for the winner, I can’t believe the judges keep choosing the same two designers. I personally think Kini’s dress had a lot more personality and style than Amanda’s.
Whose design would you consider to be the most high fashion? What did you think about Sandhya’s assignments? Did you have a favorite transformation? Please share your thoughts below!
What struck me is that they were supposed to be inspired by the suit -- not just use the fabric from the suit (even though that would have been a big enough challenge). I felt Kini's design was more inspired by his suit than Amanda's was by hers. I thought the only ones that were actually inspired by the suits were Kini, Alexander, Samantha, and Hernan. I know, I know. Hernan's was hideous and he deserved to go home but at least I could see his inspiration. It seemed as if for this judging that they didn't really mention inspiration when they are usually all over that. I'm thinking back to prior seasons with challenges like the insect one for example. The judges were constantly saying things like "Well I can really see your inspiration here." I did like this episode though. I always like when the designers have to make something from something else.