Project Runway Season 19, Episode 9 Recap: Stir It Up
I am not often envious of the Project Runway contestants. (Who wants to wake up early every morning just to have their work lambasted on national television?) That said, I do
have a penchant for mimosas. So when Christian woke the crew up this week with the promise of bottomless OJ and champagne at the neighboring cocktail bar—all this at, what, 7 in the morning?—I'll admit I turned a little green. That jealousy quickly dissipated when he revealed this episode's conceit: the infamous unconventional materials challenge. The remaining designers would be expected to assemble cocktail gowns out of materials scavenged from the aforementioned cocktail bar. Trip to Mood, not included.
The best part of this episode, every season—apart from the resulting looks, of course—is the animalistic urge that overtakes each competitor as they lunge for resources. Season 19's chaos is especially ripe for analysis. Moments before unleashing them upon the poor bar, Brandon leaves the designers with a bit of sage wisdom as he sips from a coupe: “Please just watch the hot glue. Please, God, just watch the hot glue.”
Everyone assumes a different strategy: Coral empties an entire vase of buttons into her bag. Bones violently rips beaded curtains from the wall. Prajje cuts the leather backing out of the booth seating, while Chasity stocks up on coffee filters and bottle caps. Kristina, perplexingly, snags a cornhole board, to which Aaron responds, “What are you gonna do with a cornhole board?” Anna grabs sponges and to-go containers while Prajje sets his priorities straight and nabs a bottle of champagne for the road.
Back in the workroom, they're force to face the weird collections they've acquired. Some realize they have virtually nothing to work with. Others have a vision immediately. Bones wants to make a festive party dress with placemats and broken glass; Shantall plans to sew—yes, sew—thousands of straws together to make her own pseudo-textile.
Meanwhile, Anna is struggling. She's not accustomed to working with salvaged materials, plus she's grieving Octavio's absence after last week's elimination. At her station, she devolves into tears. The situation only breaks down further when Christian side-eyes her to-go container bustier: “You’re in your head. No. It’s going to look like a tinfoil dress.” Instead, he recommends making something graphic, perhaps out of the “Exit” and “Maximum Capacity” signs she picked up. In a nod to her heritage, she opts to craft a cheongsam out of “thank you” plastic bags.
Over at Chasity's table, she has a grand and ambitious plan: She's making a textured dress entirely out of bottle caps, plastic knives, and popcorn pieces, individually spray-painted scarlet above a ruffle-hemmed skirt. Christian is wary she won't have enough time to complete her look, so he suggests she hot-glue everything first, then get to spray-painting. Knocked back on her heels by the obvious genius of this idea, she tells him, “See, this is why you’re Christian.” He shrugs. “Yeah. True.”
The next morning, the designers serenade Christian in the style of Bones's beloved Patti LaBelle—to varying degrees of success—as he sends in the models for first fittings. Virtually everyone is behind at this point, so when runway day rears its ugly head, the scramble only amplifies. Chasity has popcorn falling off her dress. Prajje's doilies are only half spray-painted. Not even the previous evening's spontaneous fireworks display and cheery friendship reflections can change the fact that some of these models are barely squeezing into their garments.
And yet—at the risk of hyperbolizing—I was completely floored by this week's ensembles as they marched down the catwalk. Never in a hundred lifetimes could I make a placemat dress that looked like anything other than alarming. Perhaps for the first time this season, I had no idea who would go home. Let's examine why.
- Shantall's one-sleeved, curve-hugging LBD is nothing short of a revelation. Had I not watched the moments leading up to the reveal, I'd never guess the gown is entirely made up of straws. After something like 15 hours in front of the sewing machine, Shantall has, remarkably, created an entirely new texture, and it's magnificent, sleek but edgy. I know the judges agree, too; Brandon's jaw literally hangs open as the model struts past him.
- Anna is the only design to opt for something graphic, and the fit of her cheongsam is expertly tailored. Still, it's hard to deny that Anna's dressed a lovely woman in an oversized take-out bag, hastily stamped with the letters “E,” “X,” “I,” and “T.” Usually Anna has an uncanny eye for elegance, but she's missed the mark here.
- As Bones’s beaded curtain dress comes down the catwalk, Elaine perks up: “It almost looks better than fabric at Mood,” she says, and she's right. Bones might have gotten lucky with those stunning beaded curtains, but he's used them so intelligently that the ensemble sparkles. A broken-glass corset adds visual interest, plus he left enough time to bless his model with a disco-ball bag. Sheer delight.
- Coral’s sleek asymmetrical black dress looks almost like armor. This is the sort of dress a Lord of the Rings character might ride into battle—utilitarian but sexy with its peek-a-boo midriff and bumpy texture.
- Honestly, I’m so impressed Chasity was able to send something down the runway that doesn’t look like a total mess. Her poofy coffee-filter skirt adds excellent movement to her vibrant red dress, and the silhouette is girlish without veering into childish territory. Still, when you look closer, the details fall apart—in some cases literally. This isn't an issue of design, but one of timing.
- I have a sneaking suspicion the judges might not agree, but I adore Aaron’s silver stirrer dress. With its chainmail-like placemat straps and glistening fringe, the ensemble looks like something Wonder Woman would wear if she opted for a winter color palette. Plus, the fluffy paper capelet is delicious.
- Let's preface this with a disclaimer: I think Prajje is a brilliant designer. But Christian was right about his look; as it flounces down the runway, the effect's not coming together. The lace doilies of his cocktail dress, while flirtatious and eye-catching, don't particularly flatter his model, who's swallowed up in all the ruffles.
- Kristina is known for her unconventional ideas, so it’s no surprise that the unconventional materials challenge spurred one of her best ideas yet: melting plastic discs into sequin-like baubles. The resulting netted dress is sparkly, fun, and utterly unique.
Immediately after the lights come up, the judges practically spill over with rave reviews. Nina, who's been with the Project Runway family since the beginning, says this is one of the best unconventional materials challenges she's ever witnessed, and—for what it's worth—I completely agree. Bones and Coral are given a quick pass to the lounge, where they squeal in excitement that they're, once again, made it through.
That leaves the judges to break down the best and worst looks. In the top are (thankfully!) Aaron, Shantall, and Kristina. In the bottom are Chasity, Prajje, and Anna. The top-scorers are showered with compliments: Nina calls Aaron's dress “an architectural feat,” while guest judge Christopher John Rogers tells Shantall her material looked so professional it “could have been beaded by Lesage in France.” Kristina, too, earns a warm smile from Nina, who tells her, “I can feel the confidence of that design.”
Over on the bottom rung, the criticism is pointed, though not cruel. Christopher tells Chasity the “graduation of texture” in her design is excellent, but the execution “falls short.” He takes similar issue with Anna's graphics, which are creative but essentially meaningless. Elaine adds that the construction of the dress wasn't an issue, saying, “shockingly, for you, it was the taste level.”
Ultimately, it's Prajje who goes home for his doily dress. The judges feel its pleather under-layer did nothing for his model's figure, nor was the lace arranged in a sophisticated way. I'll admit Prajje's design was probably the worst of the bunch this week, but it's still a gut-punch to watch him go home. He possesses such a rare and signature point of view, one I'm not sure I've seen anywhere else—especially given his devotion to his heritage. Losing perspectives like that on the show is nothing short of agonizing. Every week, these goodbyes are getting harder, more painful. But that also means the designs themselves are getting better.
Next week, the competitors have their first real-client challenge—and it's a Bravo spectacular. The Real Housewives crew is in town, honey, and you best believe they'll bring some brewing storm-clouds with them.