This was one of my favorite unconventional challenges. Partly because I've actually seen and heard about people doing this in the real world, and partly because some really interesting things came out of the challenge. In teams of two, the designers made one prom dress out of Duck brand duct tape in less than 24 hours.
There were three bad and two good dresses. First, out with the bad.
Even though it was one of the best for the judges, Patricia and Samantha's dress was the worst for me. What the judges found charming in it's insect-like or alien-like qualities, I found off-putting. I didn't like the jittery way the dress walked, I didn't like the colors, and I didn't think it was special. I will admit that Patricia's cutouts were neat, but we already know that she creates mostly good fabrics and mostly bad designs.
I had hope that Richard and Daniel would come up with something fabulously crazy between them, but I was frankly not surprised by their 80s space foil number. It wasn't the worst dress ever, but I feel that's how all Barbies were dressed in the 80s. Their one good idea, that was only slightly successful, was making a corsage. Of course the ladies need a corsage!
After last week's rip about putting denim skirts on the red carpet, Kate and Tu went ahead and used "denim" tape for their prom dress. But that wasn't their only mistake. Kate kept insisting that a long dress was young, and I kept screaming at the TV that they weren't. Especially a mermaid cut that would inhibit dancing. At prom. I admit that some girls probably want a long dress to appear older or because they fantasize about being grown up, but they always look a bit ridiculous. Kate went home for bulldozing over Tu (which she happily admitted during interview sections), and I'm sure Tu will soon follow since he has few construction skills.
In with the good. Stanley and Layana did a decent job. I almost always love a vintage silhouette, because in this day an age it tends to connote young without any hint of trashy. The armor-like style lines in the bodice were a great foil to the exaggerated hot pink bow, and making a petticoat was that extra touch that raised it from good to great. I personally would have put the bow in the back because 1) it wouldn't be in the way, and 2) I always love a good exit dress.
My favorite design, and the winner, was Michelle and Amanda's exaggerated houndstooth dress. It wasn't perfect, but it was young and fresh with that mix of soft and hard that I'm continually drawn to. Is it a dress that every girl would wear to prom? Certainly not, but their challenge wasn't to dress the "norm," and both Michelle and Amanda serviced their own aesthetics. The silhouette overall had great proportions, and I especially loved the cut and lay of the skirt. I didn't love the exaggerated bodice, because I think the dress is strong enough without it, but it didn't ruin the dress either. Michelle was declared the winner, which I was very pleased with. I mean, at this point she's basically held on with her fingernails through a lot of bad luck.
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