Project Runway (Season 19) - REVIEW

Date for Entry: (Thursday 24th February 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

Dear Diary,

    On this day my hardcopy materials from the process of documenting and making sketches for the Project Runway season nineteen. I decided to make copies of the journal entries and the important words section. These sketches will be shared and discussed lower in this entry but SUPER BRIEF.

    During the season, around episode nine, I decided to create episode data forms that would be effective in gathering all of the information for the typewritten document. A special one was created at the end of the season to treat with the finale.

    There have also been several attempts in trying to create and develop the sketch board form that also keeps several crucial pieces of information per episode. The sketch board form has gotten to version ten and seems to be satisfactory. I await season twenty of Project Runway to experiment on it in trial mode to perfect it. A special sketch board form was created at the end of the season to treat with the finale.

    ** The Magazine-Souvenir-Thesis-Journal created for this season was also made from a stencil for easy working each season and can be altered for a new fashion series if one should be provided on television. Links for a free copy!! All entries below will be further discussed in this book.

Link(s):

1. Project Runway 19 - Fashion Journal & Sketchbook.

EPISODE 1: "A Colourful Return"   *Date and a Movie*

Thursday 14th October 2021

Guest Judge: Jason Wu

Brian "Bones" Jones was the winner. Caycee Black was eliminated.

The designers were taken to Lincoln Center to be given welcomed at the start of the season and to be given the first challenge. 

The sixteen designers were split into two teams: eight being the warm and the cool team. 

For me, I chose the color purple for my design but somehow it looked pink. 

In my mind, the model and inspirator for this creation came from Sabrina Spanta. She is one of the sixteen designers for the season.

EPISODE 2: "Streetwear"   *Pan Boy in Town*

Thursday 21st October 2021

Guest Judge: Wisdom Kaye

Prajje Jean Baptiste was the winner. Meagan Ferguson withdrew.

The new challenge came in less than half an hour for the designers. We had to come up with a streetwear look containing 3 pieces. 

I wanted to do something representing Trinidad and Tobago so I used our Red, White, and Black on the T-shirt. This was supposed to be a pan-man dressed up and ready for a performance with the Steelband. There is Starlift's motto to the right on the pants.

My inspirator came from Zayden Skipper who is also another of the sixteen designers this night. 

EPISODE 3: "If You Got It, Haunt It"   *La Diablesse*

Thursday 28th October 2021

Guest Judge: Taraji P. Henson

Chasity Sereal was the winner. Kenneth Barlis was eliminated.

The designers were taken to Bartow-Pell Mansion for a sleepover and to gather inspiration for their Halloween-themed challenge.

For this design, I used the "La Diablesse" folklore character as inspiration and idea. The blue signifies the water or river that the man would be thrown in to drown. It was Christian's suggestion as he was prancing about in Mood. 

I did not know what to do with the hat that hid the demonic face of the 'devil woman'. We have also required the use of a mask so that's why I chose half of the face to be shown.

EPISODE 4: "Flower Power"   *Easy Lovely Flower Girl*

Thursday 28th October 2021

Guest Judge: Gigi Hadid   Guest: Lewis Miller

Shantall Lacoya was the winner. Darren Apolonio was Eliminated.

The idea for this challenge was all about flowers. The designers had to create their own fabric print and work with a graphic designer to do so. The guest Mr. Lewis Miller was their mentor for the fabric design aspect before leaving.

Interestingly, my inspiration came from politicians this week from United National Congress' (UNC) Member of Parliament Michelle Benjamine and Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial, and People's National Movement's (PNM) Senator Donna Cox. I was very please with this sketch and design.

The idea of the design was to be a Japanese wrap but it ended up looking like some transformation into a dress.

EPISODE 5: "Go for the Gold Sequin"   *2022 Olympic Winter*

Thursday 11th November 2021

Guests & Guest Judges: Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski

Ana Zhou was the Winner. Sabrina Spanta was Eliminated. I will miss her.

Two former Olympic skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski came into the runway venue and gave the designers the challenge which was to make looks for them. It was supposed to be looks that they would use to be on television as commentators.

Designers were split into teams of two again to do an individual piece either for Johnny or Tara and based on a specific colour. I decided to do both looks. It took me a long time over the weekend to get the ideas for these looks. I stayed the weekend at Jordan. 

Since Aaron did not win this challenge I used him for this Johnny look and I decided to use Sabrina again for the Tara look. Still found it to be too costumy but I loved them anyway.

EPISODE 6: "Fashion is Back, Baby"   *Colourful Suzie*

Thursday 18th November 2021

Guest Judge: Steven Kolb

Kristina Kharlashkina was the winner. Katie Kortman was Eliminated.

This week the designers had to work with an accessory designer to make their individual designs. The winning look and designer together would split twenty-five thousand dollars from VISA. They were also taken to Hai Trim & Feathers store after shopping at Mood.

The accessory for my design was taken from my sister, which was the hat that he wore. I took a mental copy of the design Katie made and stripped it to pieces and created this look. 

Not sure who the model is but that is the person I saw wearing the garment idea in my mind. I hope that Katie likes this.

EPISODE 7: "Are You Fur Real"   *Here Comes Covid-19*

Thursday 2nd December 2021

Guest Judge: Billy Porter

Chasity Sereal was the winner. 

Shantall Lacoya was Eliminated and then given the Siriano Save.

The challenge was to make an avant-guard look using Faux-fur from Soronic in teams of two. My idea came a long time after the episode, not knowing what concept to focus on.

I decided to use Covid-19 since it was the only topic happening either nationally or worldwide. This is my take on what Covid-19 would look like as a person. 

I used several images from Goggle to compile a single look together. It really does look like some cartoon villain but it would have been a first attempt since my childhood did not have anything of this sort.

EPISODE 8: "Couch Couture"   *Comfy Carla*

Thursday 9th December 2021

Guest Judge: Maria Cornejo

Kristina Kharlashkina was the winner. 

Octavio Aguillar and Zayden Skipper were both eliminated.

A series of designs were presented but the main judges tonight did not find that any looked like sitting on a couch at home. Prajje commented that the looks from designers were going different places and I agreed.

I had to use Carla from my novel "Magical Creatures" in order to get something done for the challenge. In my mind, I was literally shown Carla sitting on a couch and from there, she was dressed in orange-coloured clothing and then a magenta jacket hanging from her shoulders that looked like a super long cape or train.

EPISODE 9: "The Last Straw"   *Madam Barista*

Thursday 16th December 2021

Guest Judge: Christopher John Rogers   Guest: Brandon Maxwell

Shantall Lacoya was the Winner. Prajje Jean-Baptiste was Eliminated. 

The designers were taken to a place that was made to look like a bar for the unconventional materials challenge. I took a look at the things that were being used throughout the show to see what I could use for the sketch.

The materials in mind for this sketch were black garbage bags, metal cork caps, tablecloth coverings, plastic spoons, plastic forks, and net wire. The black garbage bag was used as a cover and attached with red straws stitched together around the shoulders, and more were used as a waistband separating the top and the bottom. The blue straws worked as the straps around the arms for the actual top.

The top and bottom of the design used single coloured tablecloth coverings. The top carried a particular style but I did not know its name. A light layering of net wire was used around the skirt to avoid having the pink look too plain. I just wish it was a bit longer to meet the red straws at the waist height. In terms of accessories, I used green and blue metal cork caps as a necklace. I’m not sure if you can hand sew these but would a glue gun work? I thought that the model would look fine with some bracelets and took the same net wire to hold them together. 

EPISODE 10: "The Housewives"   *Amanda at Reunion*

Thursday 6th January 2022

Guest Judge: Andy Cohen   Guest: The Housewives

Shantall Lacoya was the winner. Ana Zhou was eliminated.

The Housewives from Bravo was brought on the show for the designers to make them a reunion look. This for sure was one episode that I was not looking forward to.

I had to listen to the Housewife Shannon on the show because she was the only one that gave information about what is expected for an event such as the reunion.

The model in my mind for the garment was Amanda Batula from Bravo's "Summer House". She was also the inspiration for the design. 

EPISODE 11: "Haute Hair"   *She's Well Tuh Rock*

Thursday 13th January 2022

Guest Judge: Precious Lee   Guest: 7 Hairstylists

Chasity Sereal was the winner. Aaron Steach was eliminated.

This week the designers were asked to work with a hairstylist to create their design. It was an interesting task but it took me some time to get an idea. 

Only after the final presentation, I get one from a television series I saw some years ago. The person in the show had made a birdcage out of the hair and then called a bird through bird language to go sit in the 'cage'.

The outfit part made me think of a girl walking along the pavement in New York. She was in a suit that she wore for her office job. The model used was Ana Zhou who was eliminated in the last episode and Miss Elaine's name was used for the name of the design. 

EPISODE 12: "The Model as Muse"   *Purple Butterfly*

Thursday 20th January 2022

Guest & Guest Judge: Coco Rocha

Shantall Lacoya was the winner. Brian "Bones" Jones was eliminated.

The designers were asked to make an editorial look for the model Coco Rocha. They were taken to a warehouse to be a part of the photoshoot and their chosen photo was used for judging. Designers were asked to pick a prop for the shoot.

In my mind, I saw Coco on a tall dance pole and swinging round and round downward. I knew right away that the dance pole would have been the chosen prop. To her sides from the arms and around her legs were long pieces of fabric that looked like a butterfly. 

It felt magically working this out. I tried my best to sketch the set for the photoshoot in the back to make the design as the other designers' submissions.

EPISODE 13: "The Sky is the Limit"   *Anton's Got the Point*

Thursday 27th January 2022

Guest Judge: Karlie Kloss   Guests: Sarah Kozlowski & Tinique Bernard

No one was declared the winner. 

No one was eliminated and all were sent to the finale.

The designers were invited to the top of the Rockerfeller Center to meet Christian and Nina Garcia where the challenge was given.

My ideas came mostly from the church (St. Patrick's) to one side of the building. To my mind, I saw my Music Degree friend Anton wearing the idea for the garment I had. Seems as though he too was used as the model for the sketch. 

I'm glad that the idea for this challenge came immediately. The church had helped me out quickly. I hope this one was not costumy but good enough. It was nice to finally do a men's wear piece too. Still disappointed that they did not give Coral the win. She deserved the win for this challenge.

EPISODE 14: "Finale"   *The Show of a Season: 19*

Thursday 3rd February 2022

Guest Judge: Tommy Hilfiger   Guests: Christian Siriano

Shantall Lacoya was the winner of the Season.

This was the last of the Project Runway series for season nineteen. To the left is my compilation look where I took part of my collection for the entire season and create this final look. 

As the top four designers, being the first all-female top designers in Project Runway’s history, they were given five months as working time for the final runway. I decided that I would grant myself five weeks to come up with something as my final look. It would be a compilation look or a summary look of the entire season. I liked this idea done from season eighteen and I’m surprised that Kristina chose to do the same thing as in episode thirteen.

In the drawing process of my sketch, it felt as if I did not use all the drawings that I did for the season. There was difficulty incorporating aspects of several episodes into this finale sketch. I decided to take a few of the things that highlighted themselves to me after laying out all the season’s sketches in order of episodes on the couch and sketch the finale look. I was extremely proud of the sketch when it was completed.

In this compilation (finale) look, I used a hairstyle from the hair challenge, a new hat to symbolize the accessory challenge, the red and orange shirt to represent the pattern of the shirt in the unconventional materials challenge, and the skirt for the flower power and graphic design challenge.

The circular neckpiece was taken from my accessory challenge’s pattern from the dress and the same thing that Katie did for the neckpiece in her garment. I did not know why I was doing that exact thing but I liked the patterns and the idea of the colour that Katie might have used. Also, a blue pair of hand gloves were added from Prajje’s flower power design. When it was coloured, I felt very satisfied. I continued to wonder if people would call it a clown costume like they called Katie’s designs from some of her presentations but I loved it anyway. 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 14: "Finale"

 Date for Entry: (Wednesday 16th February 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*The Show of a Season: 19*

Dear Diary,

    The finale came and went by a long duration in the viewing process two hours. One disappointment was that the Facebook Live record was cut. Somehow the internet dipped low and then I had to do a second Live recording to continue. The other disappointment was that the recordings did not display any of the forty designs properly. Tonight’s finale was hosted at The Shed. We did not get to see Miss Elaine there for the finale but it was nice to see all the designers of the season, Coco Rocha and Emile from the Housewives challenge.

    As the top four designers, being the first all-female top designers in Project Runway’s history, they were given five months as working time for the final runway. I decided that I would grant myself five weeks to come up with something as my final look. It would be a compilation look or a summary look of the entire season. I liked this idea done from season eighteen and I’m surprised that Kristina chose to do the same thing as in episode thirteen.

    In the drawing process of my sketch, it felt as if I did not use all the drawings that I did for the season. There was difficulty incorporating aspects of several episodes into this finale sketch. I decided to take a few of the things that highlighted themselves to me after laying out all the season’s sketches in order of episodes on the couch and sketch the finale look. I was extremely proud of the sketch when it was completed.

    In this compilation (finale) look, I used a hairstyle from the hair challenge, a new hat to symbolize the accessory challenge, the red and orange shirt to represent the pattern of the shirt in the unconventional materials challenge, and the skirt for the flower power and graphic design challenge.

    The circular neck piece was taken from my accessory challenge’s pattern from the dress and the same thing that Katie did for the neck piece in her garment. I did not know why I was doing that exact thing but I liked the patterns and the idea of the colour that Katie might have used. Also, a blue pair of hand gloves were added from Prajje’s flower power design. When it was coloured, I felt very satisfied. I continued to wonder if people would call it a clown costume like they called Katie’s designs from some of her presentations but I loved it anyway.

RATINGS.

    Since it is the final episode, I could not make any selections but only pick one or two that I would have wanted to win. However, ratings were still done for all of the forty designs presented for the night.  All of the pieces came by so quickly that I did not have enough time to write proper comments or even notate them well on the paper.

• For HEARTS: Kristina got 4, Shantall got 5, Chasity got 9, and Coral got 10.
• For TICKS: Kristina got 4 and Shantall got 4, and Chasity got 1.
• For DISLIKES: Kristina got 2, and Shantall got 1.

    I would say from the presentations, that Kristina had the best music choice of the four. I would miss the sound of her laughter from the episodes. It was a very close call for who the winner would have been. I told myself that whoever was going to be the winner I would be happy for them because each of the four was amazing and they have worked hard as the others before them throughout the whole season. I look forward to next season, awaiting a new collection, a new book, and some more fun. 

 

Link(s):

1. Fashion Magazine & Journal - (Season 19).
2. Private Recording of Episode 14 - “Finale”.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 13: "The Sky is the Limit"

 Date for Entry: (Thursday 3rd February 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*Anton's Got the Point*

Dear Diary,

    This week the designers were invited to the Rockerfeller Centre but to the building top to be given the challenge by Christian and Nina. A really nice view of St. Patrick’s cathedral was shown. They wanted a look showcasing the designers’ brand and the point of view in the new wave of fashion. It was interesting to hear from Nina that this season would be the first all-female finale. I hope that the person I have my betted-on wins.

    Since I am doing this book and project as a sketch, I decided to omit the brand aspect of the challenge and focus on the building. My mind was showing me something in a bright brown leather jacket but I did not bother with it. I did not seem to find that necessary with all the buildings around the lookout of the Rockefeller Centre’s rooftop (see memories of episode section). I wanted the buildings and that amazing church in the background to source the inspiration. Did not even get much rest for today. I ended up waking the whole night after trying to sleep and wake up super early to record some of the earlier episodes of the season.

    Today, on the day of season nineteen’s finale, I sat down and sketched the drawing in pencil. Literally, my colleague Anton from the music degree at DCFA came to mind and he had on the jacket and shirt that I saw. The orange jacket was done first before I could try to get something for the shirt. I knew that the shirt was going to be that green colour and then I thought the jacket would be nice in orange after seeing that the pants were red. The fluffy ribbon at the back of the jacket was worrying to me. It looked like it did not fit in after colouring it. I wanted to have the hair brown but at the end of colouring, I realised that it was purple in my mind.  

    The final is about to come next week. I had my special form created and printed for it last week before it is not like a regular episode in the season. We saw the last of the mood shopping although I am not sure if they will be taken back for a supplemental as last season or not. When the judges did not eliminate one of the designers, I wonder how long they will have to collaborate and debate to pick the winner.

    In closing, we saw Shantall cussing and losing it a bit more along with Kristina. I am keeping my hopes up for Coral in this finale. I hope that she will be able to do that as Nina said, “I know the well is deep. I know you have it in you.”

    It was strange to see Karlie again. I found that the three main judges had done a wonderful job all season long. I loved the wildness and celebration of the Top Four. Seems like the finale will be a lot to look for in that last show. I also wonder what the music and themes for the presentations will be.

SELECTIONS.

    No ranking was done this week. In addition, no winner was selected and all were saved to advance to the finale. However, my rating continued. No designer was given dislike on tonight’s episode thirteen. Hearts were awarded to Coral and Chasity. Ticks were awarded to Kristina and Shantall.

    My decision would not count but if I had to make a decision, I would say that Coral and Chasity were high designs and Kristina and Shantall were low designs. Since there were no rankings announced there would also be no breakdown for selections in the three categories. I was forced to think of all four designs as a top four and pick one as the main selection. It was a quick runway show. That design as an overall win for me that night was done by Coral. I found that they should have given Coral a win. I was so proud of her.

Link(s):

1. Fashion Magazine & Journal.
2. Private Recording Episode 13 - “The Sky is the Limit”.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 12: "The Model as Muse"

 Date for Entry: (Sunday 23rd January 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*Purple Butterfly*

Dear Diary,

    The designers were sent to a warehouse this week to meet Christian and a model by the name of Coco Rocha. She was the main person of the episode being the guest, guest judge ad even the model wearing all five products from the top five designers. It was also interesting to see that the warehouse will be used as a photo shoot set for the model Coco to wear each of the garments. This meant that there was not going to be a runway show and only a single photo chosen by the designer will be judged.

    Since a setting was used for this presentation, the background had to be added to this week’s sketch. I noticed the window to the back with the light’s reflection on the ground and two pillars on the side of the photo area. I did not do the red-bricked wall as we saw in the episode to avoid taking attention away from my garment. The sky was still mixed in turquoise, dark blue, yellow and some purple for extra colour.

    My garment for this week came into my mind on Saturday night. Happily, everything that is in the sketch was exactly what I saw. I decided to call the garment the purple butterfly because of the way the model moved around and around on the pole, the hanging pieces of fabric looked like wings. I did not want to stick to red and blue or even yellow since those were the choices by the top five designers. I wanted a fresh look to give a better comparison and possible a newer perspective.

    A decision in the choice of colour had to be made. I thought that the orange would have been too bright so I used a dark blue to the dark purple. I thank the copy of Katie in my mind again for the assistance colour. Designers were asked to pick a prop for their photoshoot. My choice based on what was shown to me in my mind was a dance pole. The model is positioned exactly as she appeared.

    We are down to the final and top five designers of this nineteenth season of Project Runway. With Bones being eliminated, it is surprising to see that the top four females I had chosen from since episode seven was remaining. I knew that a female would be the winner, it is not just a matter o time to see which one of the four will be that person.

    Big shock for me to see Chasity’s look being placed as a low score. To me, her look had a similar feel/presence to the one she did for the Housewives challenge. Still feel scared for Coral. A lot of competition fight is coming from Shantall and Chasity. We can see Kristina being forced to compete along with coral over the two. Coco Rocha was the only one seeing Vincent Oquendo for make-up and Lucy Black for hairstyle this week. The designers had to do a lot of work. Not many one-day challenges were given than season eighteen. I found that to be lucky.

    Surprised to see Bones and Coral finished on time, which was good for them. They were helping Coral and Kristina finish something and Shantall was left alone without help. She had to run more to get across the workroom and she was singing again for a second episode. I’m still happy that she got to hear her son Franco say the word “Mama”. She was very happy then.

    A lot of ideas coming from Bones. It seemed as if there was a slightly similar problem with that to what Katies was facing earlier in the Season. He has a lot of energy. It was amazing but by the time he was done, I felt so exhausted. It was amazing when Coco said the same thing too. It was nice to know what someone else had agreed with me. I even forgot that Kristina was the last one left after all of that with Bones. I will find it hard to see him go home.

    The judges and designer were taken back to the Duggal Greenhouse’s runway location for the show for the critique segment. Their work was brought in on mannequins. Coco Rocha again was a guest judge. She was super fabulous in the outfit she wore. She is one guest judge that I have appreciated a lot from the perspective of commenting. There was a lot of feedback and good comments that she made were good enough as a contribution to this book.

    I was not sure what was happening on the outside during the duration of tonight’s episode twelve. There must have been a short rain or some breezy weather. The front door next to the television was banging and disturbing the recording session of the episode. Next episode I will be locking the bolt on the door to see if that helps. Even the television was stuck in the middle of the show for a short few seconds as last week. The quality of the video is not an easy task to do while making Facebook live. I just hope that it will remain safe and good in the DAPHA Projects Facebook Group.

    Video Recording is good for photoshoots at the side of whatever is going on. I find that when I do the four-hour review session of each episode, it is a good method to capture things like the fluff or lair of a garment when I pause it. This might have assisted the designers to get an even better picture of the judging segment.

SELECTIONS.

    This week, one Shantall was awarded a like and Bones was given a dislike. Hearts were awarded to Coral, Chasity, and Kristina. There is the only distinction between high scores and low sores this week. It appears that while there is no more immunity there are also no more safe designs for the rest of the season.

    The High scoring designs came from Shantall and Coral. Coral’s piece was taken for personal selection and Shantall’s design was placed for the challenge selection.

    The Low scoring designs came from Chasity, Bones and Kristina. Since Bones’ piece was given a dislike, choices were between Chasity and Kristina. I selected Chasity’s garment for personal selection and Kristina’s look for the challenge.

 

Link(s):

1. Fashion Magazine & Journal.
2. Private Recording of Episode 12 - “The Model as Muse”.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 11: "Hair Haute"

 Date for Entry: (Sunday 16th January 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*She's Well Tuh Rock*

Dear Diary,

    The challenge of the week was to work and collaborate with a hairstylist for the designers’ garments in Black Girl Magic. There was a lot of confusion. I found that it was not nice to have two types of collaborating challenges back-to-back. It felt as if the designers needed a recess from all that occurred in the housewives’ challenge. Immediately after the presentation, Christian took the remaining six designers to the runway side again and the next challenge was given. I could see a lot of people all around and it must have had some sort of confusion too.

    For my design this week, I chose braids. There was an episode from “Cory in the House” on the Disney channel some years ago where Cory decided to rent out a hair salon and his friend Newton did an amazing hair sculpture as a birdcage. It was amazing in the show how Newton called out to a bird in ‘bird language’ and the bird came into the saloon and he had it in the ‘birdcage sculpture. This was my idea for the challenge as the hairstyle itself.

    My inspirations came from Ms. Elaine Welteroth who provided the name of the design sketch and the designer Anna Zhou who was eliminated in the previous episode for the garment. My first glace of the garment in my mind was from the waistband and as the image zoomed out, I saw an orange shirt and jacket with either a blue or green shirt or dress top on the inside. It seemed as if she was ready and “Well tuh rock” her day at the office or some important meeting.

    The design being a nature-friendly look, I chose the butterfly and coloured it purple as support to the lupus patients. The bird being in a cage, it is still our world to make it a paradise and enjoy it. In my mind, I must wonder how this avant-garde attempt was done in Octavio’s view since this is one of his specialities. Maybe the judges will find it too costumy again.

    It was nice to see the designers celebrate Aaron’s birthday and also the special segment with the piñata. It was nicer this time to hear Chasity and Bones singing again in the workroom and also the funny voice speaking by Shantall. I would add to the song, “Listen to what Christin says, Do-dah. Do-dah.” More new music was heard on the runway and the line-up of the models.

    It was nice to see that Bones listen this time unlike Shantall and the situation she had to endure during the working period. I do not know about fabric but when she said that “leather and fabric are the same” I did not have a good feeling about it. More of the episode memories will show Christian’s reaction in the workroom. It would be a first for me to see the frustration he showed.

    The experience of the episode was just like the first one. It flew by super quick. I still had a lot of panic for Coral and Bones. Coral could have been sent home this week if the judges decided to save Aaron because of his previous work.

    I see that there is a lady who has to work with the designers again. Lord have mercy!!!! It might be another client challenge but we will see. I will also have to see what I am going to come up with for the sketch. Thumbs up to Bones, on the nice hair or if it was one of HIS WIGS.

SELECTIONS.

    This week in rating the designs, as they appeared on the runway, no designers were given dislikes. Hearts were awarded to Bones, Coral and Chasity. The ticks were awarded to Shantall, Aaron and Kristina. For each of the three categories, there were two designers.

    The two High scoring designs came from Chasity & Kristina. MY view and feeling from Kristina’s garment were confusing. I ended up selecting Chasity’s piece for both personal and challenging selections.

    The two Saved designs came from Bones & Shantall. I found Shantall’s look to be too plain for me and unfortunately it was not something I could put for any of the two selections. I’m still surprised she made it through to the end of the challenge with the situation that could have been so disastrous for her. It was surprising to me that the moment I spoke about ripe, the pants tore immediately. She was literally running in the workroom for a first. The confidence from the beginning is nice. It felt very weird as some of the others noted. It seems not everyone has to make a fighting chance for that win. I liked Bones’ look a lot and his garment was taken for both selections instead.

    The Low scoring designs were from Coral and Aaron. I took Coral’s look as my personal favourite and the challenge selections. I’m sorry for Aaron for having to leave. The garment was the unfished problem. As I had expected, while looking at the ending of the episode, I knew that all of the Project Runway Facebook groups would have been bombarded by posts on Aaron’s elimination. It did! I did not partake in it much. There was a lot to go through but I am still proud of Aaron for his accomplishments in his several high-scoring designs. I do hope that he can find that ‘special something’ that he needed in the competition and much more.

Link(s):

1. Fashion Magazine & Journal.
2. Private Recording of Episode 11 - “Hair Haute”.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 10: "The Housewives"

 Date for Entry: (Tuesday 11th January 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*Amanda at Reunion*

Dear Diary,

    This week the designers were asked to make a reunion look for the cast of Housewives of Orange County. In other words, this was the client's challenge. At the sight of the runway, the designers were asked to take out a flower or some fruit from a jar to see who their client would have been. I loved this way of selection. Still a mystery but also dangerous in this situation of competition.

    It was an obvious thought for me that I would be seeing some sort of argument happening in the show. It did not occur that heavily, but it did result in Kristina being put in an emotional state. Some of the housewives on the show did not know what they wanted and some of the designers too did not know what to present to the judges.  

    I was also surprised to see how Christian tried to clear that up in the workroom but wondered what he really meant with the choice of words. The doctor really had to be holding some character apart from “holding my tongue” as she said. Several of the housewives looked nice and the final presentation was a very exciting one to experience. A lot of energy to enjoy as well as the music.

    The design for this week was brought from inspiration by a girl named Amanda. I don’t know her full name but she is from the Bravo reality show named Sumer House. Listening to Miss Shannon talking to Bones, she said that they never allow her to wear long dresses and she had to have something with a sleeve.

    Thinking of fashion for the runway I wanted to try something with a train as well. However, the colour choice got insecure. The top is supposed to be partly sheer. Perhaps more of the back is shown and a breezy sheer part in the middle of the chest area.

    Miss Shannon also said that when the dress had to be short that she liked to show her knees. In this case, it was a top that she recommended I hoped but I’m still proud of this. I’m also glad that colour was used. It reminded me of Katie using all of the colours.

    It still is interesting how Chasity’s look resembled Shantall’s top from episode nine. Probably it is a type of design I am still yet to find out its name. Personally, this was a super-fast episode. The timing went really quick and I would usually be holding the phone camera up to get the recording longer.

    In addition to the feeling of the experience, the judging segment of the show was rather odd. It did not feel anything familiar, and it seem like a lot was to be said but taken off to make the entire episode. I did not get that feeling as if a good critique was provided. Maybe there was to be a conversation with the housewives speaking alone, then they leave the runway, and the designers got the feedback. This is how it was from season eighteen.

    We are down to the top six designers now and I am really hoping either Bones or Coral can make it to becoming the winner of the season. I have been seeing Christian keep pestering me to answer the question of who I want to be the winner in my mind. I just might have to separate them into groups as I did last season and see if that works. 

SELECTIONS.

    This week a total of six designers earned hearts (Aaron, Chasity, Kristina, Bones, Coral & Shantall) and only Ana was given a dislike who was eliminated.

    The Highest scoring designs of the night came from Aaron & Shantall. Shantall again was the winner of the challenge. Her piece was chosen for the challenge selection and Aaron’s piece was chosen as a personal.

    The Saved scoring designs came from Bones & Coral. Bones’ piece was selected for the challenge since it was something that would fit the reunion. I can recall one of the Housewives describing something exactly like what he made. I liked Coral’s look as a personal favourite. It probably was a bit too long as described by the housewives but I’m glad it worked for her, and she did not use black as her usual choice.

    The three Lower scores came from Chasity, Kristina & Anna. Since Anna was given a dislike for her design, choices were not between Chasity and Kristina. I decided to make Chasity’s look as the challenge selection and personal selection when looking at the two. Overall, the winning design from my personal selections was Chasity. The winner designer from the challenge selections was Shantall.

 

Link(s):

1. Project Runway 19 – Fashion Magazine & Journal.
2. Private Recording of Episode 10 - “The Housewives”.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 8: "Couch Couture"

 Date for Entry: (Saturday 25th December 2021)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*Comfy Carla*

Dear Diary,

    The ideas for tonight’s challenge were comfy, luxurious, and something you wear at home on the couch in an effortlessly modern look. I saw some of the same reoccurrences where designers did not follow or pay close attention to the challenge coming down to the end.

    Prajje commented the night before the runway correctly said, “This challenge is a bit more confusing to me. At this point, I really do not know what page everybody is on right now. I am seeing a lot of different things. Some people go to weddings. Some people go to strip clubs. Somebody is going to get more liquor out to the store. I don’t know. It’s a lot.” I agreed too when it was time to do the rating on the scorecard.

    While some of the other designers got to detail what they wore during the pandemic, Prajje again said, “Naked is a comfy sheet.” And, I agreed again when Ms. Lauper said that it’s good to feel comfortable in your own skin.

    My design for this challenge again came very ate. It was the first time in all my Project Runway sketches that I decided to use my acrylic paints. When I thought of the episode’s title couch couture, I began to see Carla again living in the Merqueen’s Palace and she’s sitting on a couch. I took very close not of the top that she had on and the skirt at first. It was orange as her mother’s assigned colour.

    From the back of her shoulders, most likely down to her ankles, there was a cape in her assigned colour. I saw that Kereena’s assigned colour bordering the lined end of the cape. It made me wonder if this one as well was made by Lady Serra or if the Merqueen had her own seamstress. The couch was a better seat for her instead of the throne, which would have been more work. I’m not sure where Carla is sitting but she does look comfy. The rings around her are the rays of her additional power blessed onto her by God upon her oath to the Title of the Merqueen.

    Again, we see that designers are having some difficulty following the instructions of the challenge whilst others were not following or listening to Christian’s feedback in the workroom. I was very scared for Coral and Bones during the viewing of tonight’s episode.

    I’m glad the two of them made it through. It will be hard for me to see Octavio and Zayden go as well. I had some fun getting to research Cashmere and see what it is like. I’m not sure what the fabric feels like but it seemed to be scratchy but not too much on the rough scratchy side. Looking at the judges, the time of the season is heating up for difficult decisions in who will be eliminated from the competition. I wish them all the best.

SELECTIONS.

    This week some of the designers had confused about the challenge and some were not able to meet the challenge at all. This would have caused some difficulty for me in making selections for the challenge. I still made sure to do my best in picking and keeping in mind what Brandon told me after the first episode of season eighteen.

    For this challenge 6 designers were awarded hearts (Chasity, Coral, Octavio, Bones, Ana & Kristina), 2 designers were awarded (Shantall & Prajje), and 2 designers were given dislikes (Aaron & Zayden).

    The High scoring designs came from Chasity, Aaron & Kristina. Since Aaron was given a dislike, he was eliminated from the list for consideration. I decided to pick Chasity’s look as a personal favourite and Kristina’s look as a challenge selection. Kristina for sure was the winner of the challenge tonight.

    The Saved scoring designs came from Shantall, Bones & Ana. Unfortunately for Bones, when his look was placed next to Shantall’s and Ana’s looks, his design was overpowered and was eliminated one time. It reminded me of Nancy Volpe-Berringer from Season eighteen. There was a tie between Shantall and Ana for my personal selection. Ana’s design was my strongest pick out of the two and I found it perfect again to be my challenge selection.

    The Lower scoring designs came from Coral, Octavio, Prajje & Zayden. I eliminated Zayden from the list when I saw that he was given a dislike. Looking back at Prajje’s design, compared with Coral’s and Octavio’s designs, his look would have been overpowered and been eliminated from my list. These three designers being placed in the lower scores showed that in some parts the challenge was not met. When I kept that in mind, Octavio’s design became my Challenge selection because it was the closest to the ‘at home’ look the judges wanted.

    Still searching for my personal selection, I had a really big task to decide between Coral and Octavio. Octavio’s look was my strongest pick but he had the slinky feature and the wrong choice of shoes. I decided to have Coral’s look like the winner of the lower scores.

 

Link(s):

1. Project Runway 19 – Fashion Magazine & Journal.
2. Private Recording of Episode 8 - “Couch Couture”.**

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Project Runway 19 - EPISODE 6: "Fashion is Back, Baby"

Date for Entry: (Wednesday 22nd December, 2021)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 1st March 2022)

*Colourful Suzie*

Dear Diary,

    A long while has gone since my last journal entry. This week the designers were given boxes and an accessory was placed inside. They had to collaborate with a top designer who made the accessory they got to man their garments. A further surprise was that the winning designer for this challenge and the collaborator would have an equal split of twenty-five thousand dollars for their business courtesy VISA. This was the only episode so far where two stores were visited: (1) Mood for fabric and (2) Hai Trim & Feathers for materials to create accessories. I’m not very sure how much time the designers were assigned for the time in the second store or for making their sketches.

    My sketched design for this week was taken from Katie’s look. I created a mental duplication of her garment in my mind and stripped it to pieces, to make something completely new from it. My mind was only showing me the hat that “Bones” had to use for his design so it seemed as if my mind had already chosen the accessory I would have to work with. I was personally glad for this because I did not have to go through the difficult choice of selecting one of the varieties in accessories.

    I did not use the exact hat that Bones had to use. Instead, I thought of Suzie and used the hat that mommy made for her, which can be seen at the top of the model. I’m not sure about the name of the circular pattern or fabric that mommy used but that was the main idea of the entire design. I know that Katie liked to use a lot of colours and the circular detail had a really good invitation to colour. In addition, the rectangular layering below the circular lines allowed space for more colour too. It felt as if the rainbow was well shown but I had feared that the judges would name-call it as something too costumy.

    Seeing the way that the model in the design came down the runway in my mind too, I observed the small slit in the skirt to her left leg. I’ve never seen a model on Project Runway thus far from Season eighteen or nineteen that wear glasses. The girl that I saw wearing this garment had on glasses and she really looked happy and comfy in this. I look forward to hearing or reading Katie’s feedback on my colour attempt would be. This design was one dedicated to her. All that I saw on her was the glasses and the way the clothing looked. I have not been given sight of any possible necklace, bracelets, bags, shoes or anklets.

    I congratulate Coral on her personal challenge with the red fabric and high score. Her story was very interesting to hear from the show. Other things to note were the time and Zayden’s disobedience again, and Prajje and Bones’ promised trip if they won the challenge. I enjoyed Prajje’s scream when he saw the gloves for his design. Not sure why the judges would call it too costumy.

    Always a shock when some of the designers don’t pay attention or take notes when the challenge is being given. Bones was in a lot of surprises when we saw his expression preceded the instant ask or the accessory. It did look like an accessory challenge to me. I could see from other saved score designers that even they were surprised when one of the judges confirmed the question for him. Well, it seemed like he really did “bring the rain” as he said, lolz. I still am left puzzled by what was said about vision and costumy. It would be nice to have someone explain that to me.

    I’m sad to see that Kati was eliminated from the competition and that she would be able to “trust [her] inner voice” as she said upon leaving. I have a lot of hope for her and the others that left. A really good group of designers we have this season. I could see that from the selections I had to make because usually a personal selection and a challenge selection would have always made top picks and I could not pick one.

SELECTIONS.

    We are down to a total of eleven designers, after five exciting episodes of Project Runway. 3 designs were awarded hearts, 3 designers were awarded ticks and 5 designers were given dislikes.

    I would like to mention for record of the document and journal that the top selections section was revised into two groups. One group for the things I would have liked for myself and the other group for those designs that I found bet it for the challenge of the episode. They will all be selected from the same categories of High score, Saved score & Low score.

    The High scoring designers of the night were Octavio, Coral, Kristina & Prajje. I liked Kristina’s look in a way because it was something that might have looked easily marketable. Very exciting to see how she recycled the paper bag. My top two designs for this grouping came from Coral and Prajje. Coral’s look was placed under my personal selection and I placed Prajje’s design as the challenging choice. For me I found Prajje’s look to be the winner of the challenge. Still very amazed at Octavio’s design. It reminded me of a super modern and stylish take on the midnight robber in Caribbean folklore.

    The Saved scores were Shantall, Chasity & Ana. In this grouping/category, Ana’s garment was my personal choice. However, when it came to picking one of the designers for the challenge, there was serious difficulty in selecting between Ana’s and Shantall’s designs. I apologise to Chasity for not picking hers in the categories but sometimes when I see naked parts of the body on top of her, I barely pick them. It was the same for Ana in the first episode this season.

    In the Lower scores, we had Bones, Katie and Zayden. Zayden’s design was very strong to me and caught my attention. I liked it for myself a bit more than Katie’s so I took their garments for my personal selection. In the challenge’s selection, Zayden’s look was still good enough for a low score. And, when Zayden’s design was placed next to Bones’ design, there was another serious difficulty in selecting between the two.

Link(s):

• Project Runway 19 – Fashion Magazine & Journal.

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali