Heidi Klum greeted the designers in a trench coat at the beginning of this episode. With nothing to wear to the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, she figured she’d ask her team of talented designers to come up with some options that combine her sense of style with their point of view as designers. She specifically requested that the looks be: unexpected, fashion forward, and fearless.

Each designer was given $250 and one day to complete this challenge. That was, until Heidi decided she was less than impressed with the selection of looks available during her workroom consultation. Soon after the critique, Heidi and Tim returned to the workroom with a surprise. They decided to give everyone an additional $100 so they could go back to Mood for a 20-minute visit. Those that wanted to remain in the workroom were given that extra time to work on their garments. They were also instructed to give their extra money to any designer who asked for it. Surprisingly enough, Sandhya was the only designer who asked for additional cash, which is why she was able to spend over $400 on her secondary materials.

This week’s guest judge was gold medalist alpine skier Lindsey Vonn. Due to the time constraints for those designers who decided to return to Mood, some very poorly sewn garments were sent down the runway. Kristine, Mitchell, and Korina, for instance, were all encouraged to start their designs over, but had a hard time finishing a second look in less than half a day. While all three of them were in the bottom, just Kristine and Mitchell were sent home for their unflattering garments. Luckily, there was one dress that was good enough for Heidi to claim. For the first time this season, Sean surprised the judges with his fringed, ombré dress that won him this challenge.

On to the designs…

The top:

Sean’s winning design:

Amanda’s design:

Kini’s design:

The bottom:

Mitchell’s losing design:

Kristine’s losing design:

Korina’s design:

The rest of the looks:

Alexander’s design:

Char’s design:

Emily’s design:

Fade’s design:

Samantha’s design:

Sandhya’s design:

Like Heidi, I wasn’t too impressed with the initial output of most of the designers this week. Yes, it was nice of her to give the designers a second opportunity to shop at Mood. But, for the most part, this ended up being more of a curse than a blessing. Although Sandhya and Samantha were able to rethink their designs successfully, Mitchell, Kristine, and Korina ended up throwing together dresses that were ill-fitting, unfinished, and just plain disappointing. Clearly, constructing a runway gown takes time, and unfortunately, this second opportunity turned out to be more disastrous than beneficial.

Would you have rather seen the designers work out the kinks in their original designs than get a second chance to shop at Mood? What did you think about the judges’ decision to send two designers home? Please share your thoughts below!

Gold medalist alpine skier Lindsey Vonn guest judges.

Heidi makes her way around the workroom to discuss each designer's progress.

Gold medalist alpine skier Lindsey Vonn guest judges.

Sean's winning dress was just playful enough to catch Heidi's attention.

Gold medalist alpine skier Lindsey Vonn guest judges.