#designerbenjamin

Project Runway All Stars Season 4 - Episode 5: Designing for the Duchess

I’m again late for my review - thank you for not having sent me any threatening message to have me write the post - but I’m basically doing nothing but studying for my philosophy exam - it’s a nightmare.

Anyway I’m here and I’m now ready to fill you in with all my opinions and thoughts about last episode of our favourite show.

The Duchess of the title is - of course - Sarah Ferguson, I guess the most famous member of the royal family after, of course, the MAIN royal family (and after Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, sadly remembered for their awful outfits at the Royal Wedding some years ago). Project Runway producers finally decided to ask designers to create my favourite piece of clothing: A COAT. I was really excited because I truly adore coats and they never had any challenge in which they were specifically asked to design one. Of course the winner’s design was going to be worn by the Duchess in person, so this was another great opportunity for all the contestants.

Sonjia hit the mark again in my opinion. It’s true, the Duchess is not a young girl anymore, so her look was maybe a little bit too girly for her, but hey, basically everyone went very young with their designs. First of all, I loved the fact she used neoprene (yes ok, I’m aware I have a problem with it) in grey, I loved the length of the coat and the fact it was asymmetric with the slit behind. It was elegant and sporty at the same time, and this is a very great achievement. I didn’t particularly like the print she used for the sleeves (I hadn’t noticed it until now) but I’m obsessed by the maxi-zipper she put in front, it’s just A M A Z I N G.

Benjamin’s outfit was not good at all, but Gunnar’s was definitely worse, and I don’t understand why he wasn’t even among the bottom 3. It’s a sort of Frankenstein coat made by using different style which can even work on their own, but that together make an awful match. The tweed print could make a nice trench-coat, but then it would have been too classic and predictable; at the same time, trying to insert an extremely different style in the sleeve part really wasn’t a good idea. As soon as I saw the two silver bands on the model’s elbows I understood it was the worst of the bunch. I say it again: Gunnar is the next one to deserve to go home. Please, kick him out.

I’ve already said Benjamin’s coat was really bad as well, and the judges already expressed everything I think about, which can be summed up in two points: it was too junior and the pockets were something as awful as can’t be described. For someone who started the episode saying coat is his creative field that’s not a very successful result. 

I definitely LOVED Dmitry’s coat, it was minimal without being too simplistic, everything about it was unique. I really appreciate how Dmitry can always turn things in his favour even when he’s in a bad situation, that’s an extremely important quality for a designer. I’m remembering why he used to be my favourite during his season <3

Fabio was the winner, I recognise his coat was extremely detailed and had a very good mixture of styles, but the overall impression didn’t really win me over. Jay, instead, could have edited a little bit, but I thought his creation was a good idea and I loved the fact he was one of the few to play with colours - I wouldn’t have put him among the bottom 3. Samantha was good as well, I like her style, I think it’s really cool taking inspiration from the past as she does and making something which can be really sellable without being boring. And I love oversize, so you can understand why I really liked her look for this last episode; it wasn’t maybe perfectly constructed, but the idea was extremely fresh.

Seeing the sneak peek for next episode I expect it to be HILARIOUS: fashion gambling this time. When I start thinking the producers have run out of ideas, they surprise me with something new and crazy. I love this show.

xxx