<p>In my opinion, Alexandria really should have been sent packing a very long time ago. I don’t see her pov, and I do have not cared for anything she’s designed…except, I did think the remake of the pants this week were cute for a young girl.</p>
<p>I still don’t care for Justin’s work, but did find his 2 piece avant garde look this week interesting. Still didn’t care for his redo look.</p>
<p>I was perplexed by Helen’s save this week, but I have to say her redo was really smart and polished.</p>
<p>100% I did not care for Braden’s avant garde look this week, and wondered what happened to the other gold-looking fabric he had, which may have made me feel differently about the final piece, because when he showed it to Tim in the workroom, I “saw” butterfly. To me, Braden is commercial fashion, and to me, that equals boring.</p>
<p>Dom…she is extremely talented, and I am rooting for her all the way. That jacket and jumpsuit (to my eye, watching on TV) was flawless. For such a young girl she has a very mature sensibility, really has never lost it under pressure, and can listen to critique and take in what is offered. </p>
<p>I wish my own 25-yo fashion design D had Dom’s cool and calm demeanor under pressure. Mine is more like Helen’s, always (ALWAYS!) questioning herself and over thinking every step of the way, even when there’s nothing to think about.</p>
<p>I’ve seen everyone’s final collections and I am surprised (in a good way) by Justin’s and Alexandria’s collections.</p>
<p>I still don’t like Alexandria’s aesthetics, she seems unable to produce pants that are not contrived.</p>
<p>I have to say that I really liked Justin’s collection.</p>
<p>I was not impressed by Helen’s collection, but if you think about it - she produces the same look/silhouette over and over again. I am surprised she has not been called out for it, but I think Posen is mesmerized by her execution. Helen should have gone home last week. Let’s not forget that the point of redo challenge was for Helen to save design your print look. She did not use any of Kate’s fabric.</p>
<p>If did not like Branden’s final collection. I expected more from him.</p>
<p>I really like Dom’s collection and I think she absolutely deserves to win. I hope judges finally recognized her talent and she does win.</p>
<p>No, I looked them up on Tom and Lorenzo. I always do - it is instant gratification thing with me. I am not the only one though, I think someone up-thread mentioned them, so I thought it was OK to share my thoughts.</p>
<p>lerkin, I hope you don’t think I meant you shouldn’t share your opinion! Yes of course you should. I just thought maybe I’d been lost in a time warp and somehow missed an episode. My DVR has been acting up lately. :)</p>
<p>I did not think you were reprimanding me, I was just explaining myself to people who might not want to see spoilers.</p>
<p>I hope I did not spoil for anyone - we all have different aesthetics, so what I think is different from what other people think. I tried not to go into specifics. </p>
<p>Anyway, I really wanted to share my thoughts for a while now, but I had to restrain myself. When someone else mentioned final collections, I decided it was my cue!</p>
<p>I haven’t seen the final collections but I did like Braden’s and Dom’s looks this week even though I didn’t find Dom’s fabric appealing before she created that coat with it. The product placement in this show makes me roll my eyes. Thank goodness we now know that L’Oreal Paris has 42 nail colors. I thought there were only 39. Cheers to the professionals in the L’Oreal Paris Make-Up Salon, located not too far from the Belk Accessory Wall, who set me straight via a completely unscripted conversation with one of the designers. And what a coincidence that the judge(s) commented on the model’s nails during their critiques!</p>
<p>I wonder how much Belk paid for the product placement. I’ve only heard of them, as I used to be a retail (investment) analyst. They are not a household name in the Northeast. </p>
<p>I thought the relationship w Lord & Taylor was smart, as they are a solid name in the bridge apparel line and strive for established designers.</p>
<p>Tim said he slipped on the subway steps and fell down a flight of stairs shortly after he’d welcomed the designers back. He ended up at ER and had stitches put in his lip and forehead.</p>
<p>Tim got beat on by Sandro and Ken, who wanted back in. (JOKE!)</p>
<p>Thought Justin’s had a lovely, easy elegance to them (and I still pick him for the win) and was pleasantly surprised by Alexandria’s detail - finally started to get her aesthetic. Helen, poor Helen - would have loved to hear what the judges would have had to say about the flap things on her other pieces. Also think her clothes would have been vastly improved by just lining them.</p>
<p>I adore Justin, mostly because I used to teach deaf kids so I have a warm spot for deaf speech. Also super impressed that he is also an architect.</p>
<p>But what was Justin’s gown covered with? I thought he said “test tubes”. Even if they were plastic, you could never sit down in that dress. Dancing might be out of the question, too, or at least dancing “close”.</p>
<p>This year every designer had to include an outfit made of unconventional materials. You are correct, the dress was made using test tubes and was Justin’s unconventional materials showing. I don’t think making it usable was the goal.</p>
<p>As much as I was unimpressed with Justin’s showing during the season, his final collection is really interesting. It just shows that some contestants are not made for fast paced PR competition, but if given time can fully showcase their talent.</p>
<p>P.S. Did anyone notice that his bow tie was also 3d-printed?</p>
<p>Right! Likely most designers would fail terribly if they had to design, shop, construct and style on such a short time frame. That is why designers such as Seth Aaron and Mondo blew me away.</p>